Talisman 01 - The Emerald Talisman

believed possible. I closed off the noises and focused my energy to try to predict who was ahead—good or evil.
    A crack of a tree limb and falling foliage forced me to open my eyes. A tree fell right above my head, frightened birds flew out of the leaves, and a cackle of laughter echoed across the ravine—extreme happiness mingled with the loathing hate. Selfishly, I prayed the fight would end in my favor and quickly.
    But then suddenly I heard something that sounded like sizzling fireworks and felt someone’s surprise turn into fear . . . then nothing. The evil vanished. I breathed a sigh of relief too soon as the branch shifted in the earth next to me.
    “Hurry!” I cried, but it was too late.
    I screamed as I fell, knowing I was about to die.

3 - ALIVE
    T he last thing I expected was to have someone catch me. I opened my eyes in utter dismay to find I was cradled in the arms of the most handsome man I’d ever seen. He had to be an angel; there was no other way to explain it.
    “You okay?” he whispered worried.
    Shocked, I blinked. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined such a rescue. He plucked me effortlessly out of the night’s sky with such precision. I wasn’t sure how I felt.
    I stared up into his eyes. They were oddly familiar, but I certainly would’ve remembered if we had met before. I grasped to find something articulate to say.
    “You, you caught me,” I finally stuttered out. “How did you . . .”
    He put me down onto my feet.
    “Oh,” I moaned.
    Pain shot up my leg, starting from my ankle. I grabbed his arm for support when all of a sudden the fear and emotion bubbled to the surface. Before I knew it, I’d thrown my arms around his neck and sobbed shamelessly into his chest. He gently put both arms around me, pulling me close. With his hand, he caressed the back of my hair and sighed.
    “It’s going to be okay. It’s over. You’re safe now,” he said.
    I couldn’t stop crying as I hugged him tightly and began to feel weak as the adrenaline dissipated from my veins. How close had I just come to possibly falling to my death or worse, being attacked, or even murdered tonight?
    I’m so stupid!
    Patiently, he held me not seeming to mind as I broke down. All of his feelings revealed concern and tenderness. It broke his heart to hear me cry.
    I felt the need to gain my composure and pushed back from him, wiping the tears from my eyes. My mind buzzed, trying to piece it all together. Everything happened so quickly.
    “I . . .I ran and tripped and slid right off the side of the cliff,” I said with a sniffle.
    “Well, it’s over now,” he said in a soft, soothing voice.
    I looked up at the looming cliff face. I could see what remained of the branch I clung to, twenty feet up. It was even further to the top of the ledge where I initially heard his voice coming from.
    I wanted to ask him how he got down to the bottom of the cliff in time to save me, but felt too overwhelmed to question him.
    “Are you hurt?” he whispered.
    I sniffled again. “I’m not sure.”
    My left palm began to sting. I opened my hand to find a dirty, bright red scrape that ran the length of my arm, past my elbow. The burning ache continued down the side of my body. Lifting up the bottom corner of my shirt confirmed the injury ran the length of my body. The wounds began to throb, along with my ankle and I contemplated what to tell him.
    “Well?”
    I decided to be brave and not complain, until I put weight on the other foot.
    “Oh, ouch.”
    “What’s wrong?”
    “My ankle . . .” I pointed to show him which one.
    He bent down, pulled up my pant leg and gently inspected it. I winced.
    “It’s starting to swell. Best if you stay off of it. Can you climb on my back?” he asked.
    “Yeah?”
    My heart fluttered. I couldn’t believe I actually intended to climb on his back. The whole thing seemed completely surreal. How could this really be happening? I would’ve thought this was a dream, but then I couldn’t deny the presence of the stalker.
    “But what about . . .” I gulped and pointed towards the cliff.
    “I wouldn’t worry. It’s gone.”
    “It?”
    His comment sounded as if the stalker wasn’t human.
    “Yes, I chased the animal away,” he insisted in a growl. “Now climb on. I need to get you home.”
    The animal?
    I hesitated for a minute, contemplating his comment. Could it really have just been an animal? The thought boggled my mind but at the moment, I didn’t care.